Gaming machines, such as slot machines, video poker machines, and the like, have been a cornerstone of the gaming industry for several years. Generally, the popularity of such machines with players is dependent on the likelihood (or perceived likelihood) of winning money at the machine and the intrinsic entertainment value of the machine relative to other available gaming options. Where the available gaming options include a number of competing machines and the expectation of winning each machine is roughly the same (or believed to be the same), players are most likely to be attracted to the most entertaining and exciting of the machines.
Consequently, shrewd operators strive to employ the most entertaining and exciting machines available because such machines attract frequent play and, hence, increase profitability to the operator. In the competitive gaming machine industry, there is a continuing need for gaming machine manufacturers to produce new types of games, or enhancements to existing games, which will attract frequent play by increasing the entertainment value and excitement associated with the game.
One concept that has been successfully employed to enhance the entertainment value of a game is that of a “secondary” or “bonus” game which may be played in conjunction with a “basic” game. The bonus game, which is entered upon the occurrence of a selected event or outcome of the basic game, may comprise any type of game, either similar to or completely different from the basic game. Such a bonus game produces a significantly higher level of player excitement than the basic game because it provides a greater expectation of winning than the basic game.
Some existing bonus games award the player a plurality of free games, more generally referred to as free spins. The free spins are generally provided with a specific bonus enhancement that is applied to all the free spins played that are awarded during a particular bonus game. One problem with this approach is that the bonus enhancement has already been determined before the first free spin is played, and, consequently, there is no surprise as to what the bonus enhancement will be for each additional free spin. Thus, the level of excitement is reduced after the bonus enhancement has been selected, regardless of whether the number of free spins is two or fifty. Because the bonus enhancement has already been determined for all the free spins, the player will most likely lose interest in some or most of the remaining free spins.
In some bonus games, the specific bonus enhancement is a blind selection, wherein the bonus enhancement is revealed only after the player makes the selection. Although a blind selection might be more exciting than a known selection, these bonus game suffer from the same problem as discussed above. The level of excitement lasts only until the blind selection is revealed. Thereafter, the player is a mere observer of the game for the remainder of the free spins, regardless of the number of free spins.
Although free spins have the potential to raise a player's level of excitement and to produce a sense of achievement even if the free spins do not provide additional winnings, the mere award of free spins may not necessarily provide enough entertainment value to maintain the player's interest. An award of free spins can be further improved by providing the player with additional choices for affecting the outcome of each one of the free spins. Providing additional interaction between the player and the bonus game such that the outcome of the free spins may be different for each free spin may increase the time a player will spend at a particular gaming machine.
Thus, the present invention is directed to satisfying the needs of players for enhanced excitement by enabling the players to affect the outcome of each one of a plurality of free spins awarded during a bonus game.